Groton-Dunstable Regional High School

1. 2009 Exhibition of School Planning and Architecture Groton-DunstableRegional High School Groton, Massachusetts High School Project of Distinction Submission HMFH Architects, Inc.

2. Groton-Dunstable Regional High School

3. Community Environment: Central Commons Groton-Dunstable was designed to foster a community-based learning approach. The campus is anchored by a central commons, which serves as main lobby, informal student gathering space, and student dining. The school is divided into two houses, one for grades 9 &10 and one for grades 11 & 12. The commons visually links the two wings and, with its adjacent core facilities, provides a place for these two smaller school communities to come together as one.

4. Community Environment: Serving the neighboring community The building serves the larger community as well, with its 300-seat auditorium, 800-seat gymnasium, and extensive athletic fields heavily scheduled for shared community use, as well as a television studio shared by the local cable station. The central commons functions as a lobby for community events in the theater and gymnasium, and can be reached directly from the outside. For evening events, with the classrooms wings closed off from the lobby, this regional school serves as a central civic and recreational gathering point for both school and local communities.

5. Learning Environment: Small Schools Approach & Informal Learning In designing a new high school for this two-town district’s growing population, HMFH created a facility that allows for a small schools approach. With two distinct wings around a shared core, the new school is designed to increase student-teacher interaction by breaking the population down into smaller groups. Grades 9-10 occupy one wing of the school and grades 11-12 are housed in the other; math and science classrooms are concentrated on the lower floor with humanities classrooms on the upper floor. Informal learning is heavily valued at Groton-Dunstable, and the striking central commons that connects these two wings provides informal gathering space that reflects this value.

6. Learning Environment: Specialized Learning Spaces Specialized facilities also exist for a variety of more formal learning types: each pair of classrooms shares a mini-lab equipped with 10 computer stations for small group projects and individual research. Specialized instructional areas also include science laboratories, technology education laboratories, and dedicated computer classrooms. The school also features an art suite with separate ceramics studio and dark room, a television studio, and a media center with adjacent student project rooms.

7. Physical Environment: Curves and Views The curved facade at the main entrance makes a strong primary design statement, enclosing a small black box theater/multi-purpose space and giving the building its identity. A curved glass wall at the rear reflects the façade and gives the dining commons a dramatic view of the adjacent conservation land beyond. An interior curved glass wall connects the library with the commons and the gymnasium, contributing to transparency and daylighting within the school.

8. Physical Environment: Athletics, Arts, and Daylighting An 800-seat gymnasium and art and music classrooms complete the core facilities for this 850-student school. The school is surrounded by extensive playing fields, including a lighted eight-lane track and soccer field. Because of the simple two-wing design, all classrooms and other major spaces are located on the perimeter, allowing for maximal daylight harvesting and reducing the need for artificial light, contributing both to sustainability and improved learning.

9. Planning Process: Community Needs, Educational Needs The new Groton-Dunstable Regional High School was conceived with the twin goals of creating a space that supports educational needs and also serves as a significant community center. Initial planning meetings included a broad spectrum of community members who participated in articulating community needs and setting appropriate goals. Separate meetings with school administrators and faculty resulted in another set of priorities, which included fostering informal learning and adopting a small schools approach within the larger school.

10. Planning Process: Integration of Goals The integration of these two sets of goals resulted in the development of the central commons. The commons provides transitional space between the two academic wings and allows for informal learning opportunities, while simultaneously welcoming community members into shared-use spaces, such as the theater, gym, and television studio. The design includes core facilities for 1,200 students, and indentifies options for future additions, so that the district can plan to keep pace with enrollment needs. The building was also successfully redesigned and relocated to a new site following the discovery of an endangered species on the original site.

11. Exhibition of School Planning and Architecture 2008 Project Data

12. Exhibition of School Planning and Architecture 2008 Project Details

13. The media center is wired to accommodate student laptops in the main reading room and in adjacent student project rooms.

14. The central commons serves the district’s desire to provide space for informal learning, and also serves as a main lobby that unites community use spaces. Vibrant color and gentle curves add visual interest.

15. Athletic facilities, including a weight room, gymnasium, 8-lane track, and soccer field, are heavily scheduled for both school and community use.

16. The blackbox theater was likewise designed for both school and community use, with the central commons serving as a lobby for performances.

17. Curved glass wall, seen from the dining area of the central commons, with views of preservation land on site.

18. Art suite includes main art classroom, ceramics studio, and darkroom. Clerestory windows and placement of all major spaces on the perimeter of the building allows for significant daylight harvesting.

19. Front entrance, viewed from the side. Large, high windows contribute to the school’s extensive daylighting.